9 Including DRG Jawans Killed In IED Blast In Chhattisgarh's Bijapur

Representational Image. (ANI)

At least nine people, including eight Dantewada District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawans and one driver, were killed after their vehicle was blown up by Naxals through an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, police said.

According to Bastar Inspector General (IG) Sundarraj P, the jawans were returning from a joint operation of Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Bijapur police when the blast occurred.

The incident took place near Ambeli village under the Kutru police station when the security personnel were returning in their Scorpio vehicle after an anti-Naxalite operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.

The DRG is a unit of the state police. This is the biggest strike on security personnel by Naxalites in the last two years, an official said.

On April 26, 2023, ten police personnel and a civilian driver were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle, which was part of a convoy carrying security personnel in neighbouring Dantewada district.

On Bijapur IED blast, IG Bastar P Sundarraj says " For the last 3 days, in Narayanpur district, Dantewada and Bijapur region, anti-Naxalites operation was going on. During this operation, we had recovered the bodies of 5 naxals and one jawan had lost his life...when the team was returning, in Bijapur's Ambeli area, an IED blast was carried out by Naxals. 8 Dantewada DRG jawans and one driver lost their lives in the attack..."

#WATCH | Chhattisgarh: On Bijapur IED blast, IG Bastar P Sundarraj says " For the last 3 days, in Narayanpur district, Dantewada and Bijapur region, anti-Naxalites operation was going on. During this operation, we had recovered the bodies of 5 naxals and one jawan had lost his… pic.twitter.com/HTXD99LX3C — ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2025

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday vowed to eliminate Naxals from the country by March 2026 and asserted that the sacrifice of those killed by the extremists in Chhattisgarh will not go in vain. Shah's comments came after eight jawans of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and a civilian driver were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle with a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.

"I am deeply saddened by the news of the loss of DRG soldiers in an IED blast in Bijapur (Chhattisgarh). I express my deepest condolences to the families of the brave soldiers. "It is impossible to express this grief in words, but I assure you that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain. We will end Naxalism in India by March 2026," he said in a post on 'X' in Hindi.

(With agencies inputs)